"Time travel?"
By the side of a serene lake, Leon gazed down at his reflection in the water, lost in thought.
In the lake's mirrored surface, he saw a tall, slender man dressed in a sky-blue robe. Despite his slightly disheveled appearance, the man radiated an extraordinary air of refinement.
Judging by appearance alone… he looked quite immersive.
But for Leon, none of this mattered right now.
If his memories over the past two decades hadn't deceived him…
This wasn't how he was supposed to look!
"So, where am I, and why am I here?"
Leon lifted his head, scanning his surroundings. Towering trees and jagged rocks stretched as far as the eye could see.
Just as he began pondering his next move, a sudden sharp pain shot through his head. A flood of unfamiliar memories surged into his mind, forcing a gasp from his lips.
Lingzhou. Great Yan Dynasty. Tianqiong Mountains...
War beasts, spirit tamers.
A spirit tamer, the son of a government official.
His mother had passed away when he was young, and his father was a powerful spirit tamer, serving as a high-ranking officer under the Great General of the North.
The deluge of memories took Leon more than ten minutes to fully process.
Leon was right.
He had indeed traveled to another world—a world called Lingzhou.
In this world, two major systems governed power: the Martial Artists and the Spirit Tamers.
All things and beasts had the potential to evolve and awaken a "spirit." Be it plants, animals, or weapons, once they awakened a spirit, they transcended the mundane, gaining extraordinary abilities and intelligence.
Spirit Tamers formed a symbiotic bond with these awakened spirits, creating a unique cultivation system.
Those with the potential to become Spirit Tamers typically opened a personal dimensional space called a "Cave Heaven" before the age of twenty.
When war beasts resided in the Cave Heaven, their growth rates multiplied, and they gained various indescribable benefits.
"Spirit taming? Martial arts? These aren't exactly my specialties…"
Leon couldn't help but joke bitterly to himself.
The reason was simple: while he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about spirit taming or cultivation, he was a die-hard sci-fi and mechanical enthusiast.
In his previous life, Leon was a celebrity player in a globally popular mech game called Mech Wars, consistently ranking in the top fifty across all servers. He had countless fans and admirers.
His success in the game boiled down to two key factors:
One, he was good-looking. Two, he had incredible luck.
His looks won him legions of female fans.
His luck gave him jaw-dropping success rates in draws and crafting.
How lucky, you ask?
Let's put it this way: in the gaming world, Leon was famously known as "the man who never spent a dime, playing on sheer life expectancy."
Before his transmigration, Leon had thought this was just a playful joke.
"But why am I in a primeval forest?"
After spending half a minute reminiscing about his past, Leon resumed combing through the memories in his mind, quickly piecing together his current predicament.
A month ago, a beast tide broke out near the border. Leon's father made a critical error in battlefield judgment and disobeyed direct orders, resulting in heavy losses for the Great Yan military.
After the battle, the Great General executed him on the spot.
When the war report reached the capital, the emperor was furious.
For such a grave offense, the entire family should have been executed. Leon's head would have rolled as well, but just before his execution, he successfully opened a Cave Heaven, earning the status of a reserve Spirit Tamer. This saved his life, though he was exiled to the Spirit Tamer Watch.
While Spirit Tamers were rare, with only one in a hundred—or even a thousand—having the potential, they weren't considered irreplaceable on the vast lands of Great Yan.
In the Spirit Tamer Watch, there were quite a few reserve Spirit Tamers like Leon, all bearing some form of guilt.
Most of them were collateral victims or had committed crimes not punishable by death. They were held in the Spirit Tamer Watch dungeons. If they became full-fledged Spirit Tamers, they'd be registered and tasked with missions to atone for their sins.
If not, they'd remain in the Watch, tending to the spirits—cleaning, feeding, performing menial tasks—until their strength was utterly spent.
"So… I'm doomed?"
Leon lowered his head, his face darkening as he processed more of these bleak memories.
He was currently on one of the peaks in the Tianqiong Mountains, a range with over a dozen summits.
The Tianqiong Mountains served as the Spirit Tamer Watch's breeding ground for spirits.
But "breeding" was a loose term. In truth, the Watch released captured spirits into the mountains, leaving them to fend for themselves. Periodically, high-ranking Spirit Tamers would come to remove or eliminate overly powerful spirits to ensure the mountain range remained under their control.
Leon and a dozen other condemned reserve Spirit Tamers had been sent to the mountains half a month ago.
They were given one month to bond with a spirit willing to form a contract with them.
Whether or not they succeeded in forming their first bond would determine their future.
The original Leon had desperately scoured the mountains for half a month, traversing over a dozen peaks.
Yet it was all in vain.
Perhaps spirits didn't share the same aesthetic standards as humans, for his good looks didn't endear him to any of them. Worse, his low-tier Cave Heaven seemed to repel the spirits.
In just half a month, he had been rejected over a hundred times.
As the original Leon sat in despair by the lake, something had struck him on the back of the head, allowing this Leon to take over his body.
A miserable tale indeed...
"Well, this doesn't look promising."
Following the memories in his mind, Leon attempted to open his Cave Heaven.
As for what knocked him unconscious earlier… in a place like the Tianqiong Mountains, filled with hostile spirits, jealousy over his handsome face seemed plausible.
Soon, a gray, foggy space materialized before Leon.
This was his Cave Heaven—utterly devoid of elemental attributes, characteristics, or vitality.
Just a dull, lifeless expanse of gray.
According to the memories, Spirit Tamer Cave Heavens were classified into four grades: Mortal, Spirit, Heavenly, and Divine, each with three sublevels: Low, Middle, and High.
From Leon's repeated rejections, it was clear his Cave Heaven was a Mortal-grade Low-tier—the lowest of the low.
Leon suddenly felt like his life mirrored his Cave Heaven: bleak and uninspiring.
The faint hope that had flickered moments ago extinguished completely as he slumped down by the lake.
"Just end it already. I'm exhausted."
"Wait, what's this?"
Staring blankly at the sky, Leon suddenly noticed something new in his vision. Rubbing his eyes, he looked closely.
[Name: Leon (Human)]
[Class: None]
[Sub-class: Not unlocked]
[Physique: 8]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 4]
[Spirit: 9]
[Charm: Max]
[Initial Free Attribute Points: 5]
[Initial Skill Points: 5]
[Skills: None]
[Class Skill Tree: Unlock upon choosing a class]
[Inventory: None]
[If you think these stats make you weak, then guess what? You're absolutely right!]
A Mech Wars game panel?
Just as I thought!
Leon leapt to his feet, grinning broadly.
It seemed that not only had his looks crossed over with him, but so had his incredible luck!